A resource to help individuals and families use the scriptures, traditional customs, art, and music to enrich their celebration of the holidays, focusing them more on the Lord Jesus Christ and his gospel.

Monday, April 14, 2014

Monday

The Monday of Holy Week is what I sometimes refer to as one
of the "overlooked days" of Holy Week. Even churches, such as the Roman Catholic or
Anglican, that are heavily liturgical do not tend to have specific services for
Monday and Tuesday (or even Wednesday, as far as I know), though sometimes
they have general Passion Week collects (or communal prayer) on the mornings of
those days.

James Tissot, The Pharisees Question Jesus

For those of us who are using the scriptural accounts of the
Savior's last days as the focus of our personal or family study this week,
however, there are plenty of episodes to read, each of which I see as being
connected to Jesus' status as the rightful king and his coming atoning
sacrifice.Jesus appears to have spent most of this day in the courts of the Temple, where he was questioned by the authorities and taught the people.

The courts of the Temple of Herod were the scenes of many of Jesus' teachings his last week.

For lovely images and blocks of scripture quotations that nicely supplement what I am doing on this blog, please see the blog of my friend Chad Emmett, Beit Emmett, Holy Week: Monday.

Ideas for Families

Do one or all of the following, depending upon the age of
any children and their attention span:

Read the
story of the Fig Tree in Mark and discuss the importance of bearing good fruit
in our lives by following Jesus and keeping his commandment

Read the
Parable of the Wicked Tenants (Matthew 21:33–46) and talk about how it
foreshadowed what was going to happen to Jesus later that week

Listen to Handel's "And He Shall Purify the Sons of Levi"

Read the
story of Jesus teaching about the Coming Hour in John 12:27–36.

Remembering Jesus as the rightful king from Palm Sunday, sing "Come, O
Thou King of Kings" (hymn 59) as we look forward to his return

Anglican collect of the day:

Almighty God, whose most dear Son went not up to joy but first he suffered pain, and entered not into glory before he was crucified: Mercifully grant that we, walking in the way of the cross, may find it none other than the way of life and peace; though Jesus Christ thy Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with thee and the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever. Amen.

CURSING OF THE FIG TREE AND THE MARCAN CLEANSING
OF THE TEMPLEAfter the events of Palm Sunday, Jesus retired
from the Jerusalem to spend the night in Bethany, a pattern he followed
throughout much of the week. On his way back to the holy city the next morning,
he saw a leafy fig tree, which, understandably for the season, was not yet
bearing fruit.

And on the morrow, when they were come from Bethany, he was hungry:
And seeing a fig tree afar off having leaves, he came, if haply he might
find any thing thereon: and when he came to it, he found nothing but
leaves; for the time of figs was not yet. And Jesus answered and said
unto it, No man eat fruit of thee hereafter for ever. And his disciples
heard it. (Mark 11:12–14 )

In one of the superficially strangest episodes of Jesus’ ministry, the tree,
in Matthew at least, immediately died: "And presently the fig tree withered
away" (Matthew 21:19). Mark, however, exploits the incident and uses it together
with the episode of the cleansing of the temple to make the meaning of the
withered tree’s symbolism more clear. Whereas Matthew and Luke recorded the
cleansing of the Temple as occurring on Palm Sunday, right after the Jesus’
triumphal entry into Jerusalem, Mark places the temple incident the next day
(Monday). For literary effect he "sandwiches" it between seeing the barren fig
tree Monday morning and seeing it again the next day withered and dead. This
symbolizes that Israel has been fruitless, making the cleansing of temple not
only a sign of the importance of keeping it clean but also a symbol of the
coming destruction of the temple, Jerusalem, and the Jewish nation of his day.Reflection

While readers are more familiar with Jesus healing and blessing rather than
"cursing," the story of the Fig Tree is important for our day. Just as the Jews
of Jesus’ time were held accountable for bringing forth fruit, so, too, are our
lives expected to reflect that of Jesus. As he would later teach in the Book of
Mormon, Jesus said, "Behold I am the light; I have set an example for you . . .
Therefore, hold up your light that it may shine unto the world. Behold I am the
light which ye shall hold up—that which ye have seen me do. Behold ye see that I
have prayed unto the Father, and ye all have witnessed" (3 Nephi 18:16, 24).
While Jesus came primarily as a loving, healing Savior for those who accept him,
he was also called to be a just Judge:

For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto
the Son: That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the
Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which
hath sent him. Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that heareth my word,
and believeth on him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not
come into condemnation; but is passed from death unto life.(John
5:22-24; cf John 12:48)

According to the Synoptic gospels, during the first part of this week Jesus
established the pattern of spending the nights in Bethany and coming to the
temple in Jerusalem each day to teach.

And he taught daily in the temple. But the chief priests and the
scribes and the chief of the people sought to destroy him, And could not
find what they might do: for all the people were very attentive to hear
him. (Luke 19:47–48)

Many Gospel harmonies, because of their attempts to reconcile Matthew and
Luke’s sequence of events with that of Mark, assume that his temple teachings
were grouped and delivered together on Tuesday. Following the Matthean
order, Jesus' teaching did not begin until after the chief priests and elders,
who had assumed leadership in Israel, first challenged Jesus:

Andwhen he was come into the temple, the
chief priests and the elders of the people came unto him as he was teaching,
and said, By what authority doest thou these things? and who gave thee this
authority? (Matthew 21:23)

After silencing his opponents by challenging them to declare by what
authority John the Baptist had discharged his ministry, Jesus proceeded to teach
a series of four allegorical parables that illustrated the rejection of Israel's
current leadership (Matt:21:28–22:14). The next block of teaching consists
of attempts to trap Jesus in his words followed by a final denunciation of the
leaders of "old" Israel (Matt 22:15–23:36). The ordering of Matthew thus
provides a logical division for the topics that he treated, as well as a
convenient way to divide his discourses into two manageable sections for study,
the first being treated on Monday and the second on Tuesday.

Matthew

[Monday]

Authority of Jesus Questioned (21:23–27)

Old Israel Rejected (21:28–22:14)

Parable of the Two Sons (21:28–32)

Parable of the Wicked Tenants (21:33–46)

Parable of the Wedding Banquet (22:1–10)

Parable of the Man Without a Wedding Garment (22:11–14)

[Tuesday]Attempts to Trap Jesus in His Words (22:15–46)

Question about Paying Taxes (22:15–22, Pharisees and Herodians)

Question about the Resurrection (22:23–33, Sadducees)

Question about the Greatest Commandment (22:34–40, Pharisees)

Question about David’s Son (22:41–46, Christ to the Pharisees)

Denunciation of the Leaders of Old Israel (23:1–36)

Hypocrisy of Scribes and Pharisees (23:1–12)

Seven Prophetic "Woes" (23:13–36)

Mark

Exhortations (11:22–26)

On Faith (11:22–24)

On Forgiveness (11:25–26)

Six Interrogations in the Temple (11:27–12:37)

Jesus’ authority questioned (11:27–33)

Parable of the Wicked Tenants (12:1–12)

Question over paying taxes (12:13–17)

Questions about the resurrection (12:18–27)

The great commandments (12:28–34)

Question about David’s son (12:35–37)

The scribes and the widow (12:38–44, narrative)

Luke

Authority of Jesus Questioned (20:1–8)

Parable of the Wicked Tenants (20:9–19)

Question about Paying Tribute to Caesar (20:20–26)

Question about the Resurrection (20:27–40)

Question about David’s Son (20:41–44)

Jesus Denounces the Scribes (20:45–47)

The Widow’s Offering (21:1–4)

OLD ISRAEL AND ITS LEADERS REJECTED

Jesus' calling of twelve disciples reflected that the kingdom that he
was establishing, reflected in his church, was a new, spiritual Israel that was
replacing the old, ethnic Israel, much of which had been scattered and the
remnant of which was now largely in the hands of a leadership that
illegitimately held religious authority as well as a large measure of political
power. Of the four parables that Jesus taught in the temple to illustrate
this, the one preserved by all three Synoptic gospels is the powerful
Parable of the Wicked Tenants (Matt 21:33–46; Mark 12:1–12; Luke
20:9–19). In it the House of Israel is likened to a vineyard that the
owner puts in the hands of a series of husbandmen who abuse their power and
reject the servants that the Lord sends to gather the produce. These
servants, representing the Old Testament prophets and John the Baptist, are
beaten, stoned, and otherwise killed. In a telling foreshadowing of Jesus'
own coming fate, Matthew records:

But last of all he sent unto them his son, saying, "They will reverence
my son." But when the husbandmen saw the son, they said among themselves,
"This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and let us seize on his
inheritance." And they caught him, and cast him out of the vineyard,
and slew him. (Matthew 21:37–39)

Jesus prophesied the fate of Israel's leadership, and foreshadowed his coming
Olivet Discourse, when he compelled the leadership whom he was addressing to
admit that the Lord would "destroy those wicked men, and let out his vineyard to
other husbandmen" (Matthew 21:41).

Reflection
Jesus' interaction with the chief priests and elders underscores his position
as rightful king. It was his temple, which he had symbolized by
cleansing it previous day, and they were usurpers whose predecessors had
rejected the prophets and who were themselves about to be complicit in the death
of their own king. Objectively, of course, they did not know that
Jesus was their king, and in that sense the appearance of Jesus in the Jerusalem
Temple that week was one fulfillment of the prophecy of Haggai: the second
temple, by this time remodeled and beautified by Herod, was greater than the
first temple of Solomon not because of worldly grandeur or ornamentation but
because "the desire of all nations" had come into it (see Haggai 1:6-9).
Indeed the Lord whom they sought had suddenly come to his temple (see Malachi
3:1), and they had not recognized him.
Significantly for us, these prophecies of the Lord and his messengers coming
to temples have had latter-day fulfillment and will yet have further fulfillment
with his glorious return, as echoed by the words of the hymn, "Come, O Thou King
of Kings":

Come, O Thou King of Kings! We've waited long for thee, with
healing in thy wings to set thy people free. Come, thou desire of
nations come; let Israel now be gathered home. (Hymn 59, verse 1).

Thus the royal interpretation of the Savior's last week has significance not
only historically but also in terms of our hope for the Lord's glorious second
coming.

MESSIAH Chorus for the Day: "And He Shall Purify the Sons of Levi."

As I have been thinking of how to incorporate Handel's Messiah into my observance of Holy Week this year, I realized that this famous chorus from Part I of the oratorio fits well with the rejection of the priestly leadership at the time of Jesus. Part I of Messiah consists of the promise of a coming Savior, but movements 5-7 within that section are often viewed as a scene about the coming judgement. To an extent this judgement was realized soon after the mortal ministry of Jesus with the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple in A.D. 70, but it also serves as a type of the destruction of the wicked that will precede the Lord's millennial reign.

The words come from Malachi, much of which referred in its first instance to the corruption of the priests in the newly rebuilt second temple at the close of the Old Testament. However, these prophecies also describe well the situation at the time of Jesus. Despite the general condemnation of the priests and Levites, Malachi 3:3 holds out the promise of their future rehabilitation:

And he shall sit as a refiner and purifier of silver: and he shall purify the sons of Levi, and purge them as gold and silver, that they may offer unto the LORD an offering in righteousness.

While there were doubtlessly good, sincere priests and Levites at the time of Jesus, such as Zacharias the father of John the Baptist, the gospel narratives are clear that the chief priests were corrupt. Listening to this moving chorus reminds me, however, that despite the hard-heartedness of many at the time of Jesus, in the end the Lord will redeem his chosen people. Indeed, the prophet Joseph Smith taught that as part of the restoration of all things, the purified descendents of Levi will make an offering in righteousness again. When singing this chorus, I am always most moved by that last line, which fills me with hope that despite my own flaws and shortcomings the grace of the Lord will purify me and make me of service to him in his kingdom.

JESUS AND THE COMING HOUR
The events in John 12:20-26 are not clearly placed in the week’s chronology,
but in John’s narrative they come right after the triumphal entry. Immediately
prior some Greeks, who had come to worship at the feast, tried to meet Jesus,
thus foreshadowing how all nations would come to Jerusalem to worship and partly
fulfilling the aforementioned prophecy that "the desire of all nations"
had come.
In Jesus’ brief
discourse of "The Coming Hour," he is troubled at the his coming suffering,
foreshadowing his plea in the garden to "let the cup pass." Nevertheless, the
voice of God comes, reassuring him that Jesus is glorifying the Father.

"Now is my soul troubled; and what shall I say? Father, save me from
this hour: but for this cause came I unto this hour. Father, glorify thy
name." Then came there a voice from heaven, saying, "I have both
glorified it, and will glorify it again." (John 12:27-28)

Jesus’ soul being troubled is the first indication that the passion, or
"suffering," of Jesus began earlier in this his last week than is often thought.
Already at this point he is looking forward to, and feeling the weight of, the
events of Gethsemane and Calvary, and the Father quickly assures him that this
is part of their work "to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man"
(see Moses 1:39). Looking forward to Calvary, Jesus then proclaims, "And
I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me" (12:32–33; cf. 3
Nephi 27:14), thereby indicating what kind of death he should suffer.

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For Christmas

To prepare for Christmas, see my Good Tidings of Great Joy: An Advent Celebration of the Savior's Birth, which consists of an exposition of the biblical Infancy Narratives, art, pictures of the Holy Land, detail and reflection sidebar articles, music selections, and suggestions that help Latter-day Saint families use the traditional observance of Advent help their celebration of Christmas become more Christ-focused.

Available now!

The Miracles of Jesus is a thanksgiving, a scriptural affirmation of the power of Jesus Christ in both the New Testament Gospels and in the lives of believers today. Like Good Tidings of Great Joy and God So Loved the World, this work is a scriptural exploration of important episodes from the Gospels augmented by art, photos of Holy Land sites, maps, historical details, musical selections, and devotional reflections. This volume focuses on the miracles performedby Jesus during his ministry, culminating in the ultimate miracles that come to all because of his Atonement.

Order online or find in any Deseret Book store or wherever LDS books are sold.

For Easter

My guide for preparing for Easter, God So Loved the World: The Final Days of the Savior's Life, uses the period of Holy Week---the days between Palm Sunday and Easter morning---to better prepare for celebrating the saving suffering , death, and rising of Jesus Christ. Full-color fine-art paintings, photographs, maps, music, and topics for personal reflection are included to enhance our commemoration of Easter week.

Music for Easter!

The Mormon Tabernacle Choir and Orchestra at Temple Square present on this CD a selection of musical works centered on the miraculous events recounted and commemorated in the Easter story.

About Me

I am a husband, a father, and a teacher. Enjoy religion, history,
languages, music, and exercising (running and weight training mostly,
nothing that requires a lot of skill!). A triple "A" personality type, I
overdo things and do not sleep enough!

Received my BA in
Classical Greek and Latin from BYU in 1990, then my MA and PhD in
Ancient History in 1992 and 1997 from the University of Pennsylvania.
Taught Classics at BYU from 1994-2003 and now have been in the
Department of Ancient Scipture.